Pesticide Registration in the Philippines

All pesticides intended for commercial use in the Philippines shall be registered with the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) in the Philippines. No pesticide shall be imported, manufactured, formulated, repacked, distributed, delivered, sold or offered for sale, transported, delivered for transportation, or used unless it has been duly registered with the Authority or covered by a numbered provisional permit issued by the Authority. 

Definition of Pesticides in the Philippines

In the Philippines, pesticide means any substance or product, or mixture thereof, including active ingredients, adjuvants and pesticide formulations, intended to control, prevent, destroy, repel or mitigate directly or indirectly, any pest. It shall be understood to include insecticide, fungicide, bactericide, nematicide, herbicide, molluscicide, avicide, rodenticide, plant regulator, defoliant, desiccant and the like.

Pesticides are further classified into Chemical Pesticides and Biorational Pesticide (including biochemical pest control agents and microbial pest control agents)

Main Pesticide Regulations in the Philippines

• Presidential Decree No. 1144 creating the Fertiliser and Pesticide Authority and abolishing the Fertiliser Industry Authority

• Pesticide Regulatory policies and implementing guidelines by FPA;

Who Shall Register？

Only local companies registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to do business in the Philippines and duly licensed by FPA may apply for registration of pesticide products in the Philippines.

For purposes of these guidelines, a local company is a juridical person created under the Philippine Law and licensed to do business in the country. Companies operating in the Philippines under PD 218 are excluded in this definition. Foreign suppliers or companies registered under the SEC as regional liaison offices (PD 218) are not allowed to register products. In practice, the applicant or registrant shall be the distributor or the local subsidiary of a foreign-based pesticide company

Pesticide Registration Types and Validity

In the Philippines, pesticide registrations can be divided into the following types:

• Proprietary Products Registration

• Commodity Products registration

• Third party authorizations

Each registration shall be valid for a period of three years. Renewal of registration may be filed three (3) months before its expiry date.

The list of registered pesticides in Philippines can be searched via the link below:

• https://fpa.da.gov.ph/NW/index.php/information-resources/data/registered-products

Registration Data Requirements

Pesticide registration applicant shall submit required registration data to the FPA according to registration type, which typically includes test reports on product chemistry, toxicology, environment, efficacy, and sample labels.

Philippines accepts GLP study reports issued by overseas laboratories, with lower registration data requirements and costs compared to Europe and America, as well as shorter review periods, allowing pesticide companies to enter this market more quickly, particularly new active ingredients and biopesticides.

The detailed data requirement is listed as follows:

A. For Proprietary Products Registration

Registration of new products requires a full set of data, both for technical materials and formulations. There are mainly four parts: including a full analysis report of five batches of technical material in compliance with GLP, report on the physicochemical properties of the technical material, report on the physicochemical properties of the formulation, synthesis, and processing technology, etc.; field efficacy trial reports (herbicides for two seasons in two locations, insecticides and fungicides for one season in two locations); toxicity reports (including six acute toxicity tests for both technical material and formulations, chronic and sub-chronic toxicity, etc. and reports on residues and environmental behavior.

FPA has clear requirements for the data and is willing to accept publicly published literature. It also allows applicants to argue or supplement information. For new data submitted by the applicant that is not publicly available, a three-year data protection period is granted. Once an applicant obtains registration for a new product, FPA provides the applicant with eight years of administrative protection for that product. During these eight years, a second application for registration will not be allowed.

B. Commodity Products Registration

The formulation and technical material applied for registration are the same as those already registered, and the usage and crops are consistent with the registered product and beyond the eight-year administrative protection period. The data requirements for identical product registration are lower, and the applicant only needs to provide a product data summary (i.e., the first major part of new product registration). If the applicant wants to expand to new crops, additional field efficacy trials are still required.

C. Third-party Authorizations

FPA considers the owner of the product data to be the product supplier, therefore allowing the supplier to authorize their already registered products for use by third parties in the Philippines, provided that third-party labeling is used. The procedure for third-party authorization registration is very simple; the applicant only needs to fill out an application form, pay the fee, and submit samples and labels.

The detailed information requirement listed in section 2.3 DATA REQUIREMENTS FOR REGISTRATION AND EXPERIMENTAL USE PERMIT on <Pesticide Regulatory policies and implementing guidelines>.

Note: Usually overseas GLP test data is accepted in the Phillippines, which can greatly reduce testing costs.

Registration Evaluation Process

All applications received shall be screened for completeness by the designated Registration Coordinator within one week. If found incomplete, it will not be processed but returned to the applicant. The complete application shall then be entered into the registration tracking system and the applicant shall be notified. The complete data sets shall be sent to the respective consultants for evaluation/assessment.

For commodity products, the maximum time for evaluation shall be three (3) months. For proprietary products, simultaneous evaluation of specifications, bio-efficacy and residue/fate in the environment shall be three months while that of toxicology will be nine (9) months. 

Estimated Costs and Timelines

For commodity products, it typically takes less than 1 year to register. For proprietary products, registration usually takes more than 3 years . Registration costs depend on product types and test data requirements. 

Our Services

CIRS Group offers a comprehensive suite of services covering every aspect of pesticide registration in Southeast Asia. Our services include:

• Regulatory Consulting: We provide up-to-date insights on regulatory trends and changes, helping you stay ahead in the market.
• Dossier Preparation and Submission: Our team of experts prepares and submits your registration dossiers, ensuring they meet the specific requirements of each country's regulatory body.
• Efficacy and Safety Testing: We facilitate and manage all required local testing, including efficacy, toxicology, and environmental impact studies, through our network of accredited laboratories.
• Local Representation: For clients without a local presence, CIRS Group can act as your local agent, representing your interests and liaising with regulatory authorities.

For more information on how we can assist with your pesticide registration needs in Southeast Asia, contact us today via service@cirs-group.com.